"This inspiring account shows how schools can be transformed and pupil achievement raised when we blend our finest professional development with the excitement of grassroots participatory democracy."

- Dennis Shirley, professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College

"...shows how immigrant parents can become leaders in their schools and communities."

- Mark R. Warren, associate professor of education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"Instead of dwelling on dysfunction, she cuts to the core: the need to build trusting relationships and equalize the distribution of power."

Anne T. Henderson, senior consultant, Community Organizing and Engagement, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

How can schools cultivate communities where immigrant parents are advocates, leaders, and decision-makers in their children's schools? A Cord of Three Strands offers a close study of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (now known as Palenque LSNA), a grassroots organization in Chicago’s Northwest side, whose work on parent engagement continues to draw national attention. Soo offers a three-part framework--induction, integration, and investment--that captures the dynamic and developmental nature of successful family engagement in schools. 

Writing with both optimism and urgency, Soo offers richly detailed portraits of parents' experiences and addresses the complex and sometime conflicting relationships among school, family, and community.